Re: Re: CULT: Stunted stalks & mini-TBs
- Subject: Re: [iris] Re: CULT: Stunted stalks & mini-TBs
- From: D*@cabq.gov
- Date: Thu, 1 May 2003 17:22:16 -0600
- List-archive: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris/> (Web Archive)
Just sent a post that hinted on this. I found some interesting things this
year regarding stunting too. I had several plants with short stalks (a few
with full sized flowers almost on the ground, but with normal leaves);
however, most of these had normal stalks too. I think late frosts were to
blame, somehow stopping the elongation of the stalks, but not the bud
formation.
As for drought induced stunting, I have several IB iris (mostly Eleanor
Roosevelt) that are planted out on a dry slope that I water less than I do
most Iris. Usually the plants are pretty normal looking, but this year
(following last year's extreme drought and hot weather) the plants came out
with little tiny grayish leaves, looking like little mini AB's or MTB's.
However, when they flowered, they had normal stalks (perhaps just a bit
short), with normal stalks. They looked strange with the little tiny
leaves, and it made the flowers look much larger than they really were.
I'm going to move them soon, and leave the hillside for the dwarves and
smaller AB's, which really do well there.
Oh, and I did see dwarf flowers on I. pallida 'Dalmatica' this year. First
time. The plants are in a long narrow dense row that has probably not been
divided in 30 or 50 years. They are obviously not watered, getting some
extra moisture from pavement runnoff. Even so, in most years they put on a
spectacular display of totally normal flowers on stalks between two and
three feet tall. However, this year, the flowers are only about 2 inches
across, also crinkled like the ones in my yard (see the post on bottom
flowers first), but the stalks are of normal height. I'm assuming this is
because last year was extra dry(?), and this spring ain't exactly been wet.
Dave
central New Mexico
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